You can now go to prison for a long time if you seriously injure someone while carelessly driving. The law changed this week following campaigns to plug a gap in sentencing guidelines and here Paul Loughlin (below), partner and motoring offences specialist at Stephensons explains the thinking behind the changes. “The consequences of dangerous and careless driving are often profound. Just one … [Read more...]
New law on smart chargers eases strain on grid
New legislation requires all home and workplace electric vehicle chargers installed from this week to have smart charging capabilities. The new laws are aimed at helping to manage the strain on the national grid. They will encourage drivers to use smarter tariffs to avoid thousands of EVs charging at once during peak hours, which is usually during the day and evening. Charlie Cook, the founder … [Read more...]
End of the road for traditional petrol and diesel cars
It’s game over for the internal combustion engine as we've known it in Europe, green group Transport & Environment (T&E) has said, after EU governments agreed to end sales of polluting cars and vans by 2035. The deal reached by Environment Ministers this morning makes the switch to zero-emissions vehicles a foregone conclusion after the European Parliament voted for it earlier this month. … [Read more...]
Cyber criminals eye motor businesses
Big car dealerships and automotive suppliers face a threat from cyber-criminals and ransomware. KnowBe4, the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, announced the release of a resource kit for IT managers as part of a month-long effort in July to increase awareness of ransomware, its many forms and methods used by cyber criminals to extort … [Read more...]
Consumer Credit Act Changes proposed
NFDA welcomes Government’s commitment to modernise consumer credit laws, which will make motor finance more accessible for consumers, said Sue Robinson, Chief Executive of the National Franchised Dealers Association. Last week, the Government announced its commitment to reform the 1974 Consumer Credit Act, which includes car finance regulations for hire purchases and PCP agreements. The … [Read more...]
Two year MoTs backed by majority
More than eight out of 10 (84%) used car buyers would back a controversial Government idea to switch to two years between MOT tests. The new monthly Startline Used Car Tracker shows that 69% of this group believe their car would remain safe despite the longer gap. Saving money appears to be less of a factor behind their thinking, mentioned by only 16% of those in favour. Of the 16% of people who … [Read more...]
Road trips and evs taking the strain
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of UK adults are planning a long road trip this summer with six per cent planning to make the trip in an electric vehicle and nine per cent in a hybrid, a study by insurer Aviva has found,. Previous Aviva research, released in April 2022, found more UK drivers were planning to buy an EV or hybrid as their next car (58%) than either a petrol or diesel model (43%), but … [Read more...]
Tradelines 1 June
Using FOI requests to 50 UK councils, Rivervale Leasing has investigated 21,106 vehicles reported abandoned during 2021 to find out the most common and where this is happening most frequently. The Ford Transit was the most commonly abandoned vehicle by a long way but the top dumped car compared to their total registrations was the Suzuki Vitara and in Wales the survey showed Swansea had the … [Read more...]
Newslines 31 May
Octopus Electric Vehicles has secured a multi-million-pound green funding line from HSBC UK to support the growth of its salary sacrifice scheme, which aims to make the switch from a petrol or diesel car to an electric car easy and affordable for businesses and drivers. The company will use the funding to finance its fleet of electric cars for clients offering EVs as a benefit to their employees … [Read more...]
Electricity charging costs rise 21% as market grows
The era of cheap electricity to charge a new low emissions car is disappearing while their sales are rising in the latest production figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The average price of charging an electric car on a pay-as-you go, non-subscription basis at a publicly accessible rapid charger in Great Britain has increased by 21% to 44.55p per kilowatt hour since … [Read more...]